Metaphors
by dearbluebrid
Summary: After the war,Konoha was nothing but a collection of prostitutes and beggars—God, leaving them all behind stung like floor burn across her heart and drunken spiders in her stomach. A story about Sakura, her memory that was erased, her departure from her village of hell, a surprise meeting with what she called the epiphany of sin, and a feeling of butterflies that fluttered in heart
1. Chapter 1

Metaphors-

After the war, Konoha was nothing but a collection of prostitutes and beggars. But oh God, leaving them all behind stung like floor burn across her heart and drunken spiders in her stomach. Hell yes it hurt her, but she knew better than to ride tides of un-fulfilling promises. A story about Sakura, her memory that was erased, her departure from her village of hell, a surprise meeting with what she called the epiphany of sin, and a feeling of butterflies that fluttered in her heart.

Chapter one: smoking red head

Notes: A chapter dedicated to the darkness that lurks within Karin and the sorrow that lives in Sakura.

I LOVE STUDIO GHIBLI

"When I was a kid, my dad said not to lean too far into anything because you could fall in and never get back out." She said looking out into the dark village.

"That's some good advice" The red head replied. "Too bad you didn't listen." Sakura smirked at her friend.

"We went ice fishing once, and I leaned too far into the water, and I fell in." She said. "He kept saying _Sakura you idiot! I told you not to lean too far, you idiot Sakura!_"

Karin laughed and lit up a cigar in her hands. A fleck of light illuminated her face in the night, and Sakura saw the anguish in her deep red eyes.

"Sounds like your father was a smart man." Karin said exhaling. "I abandoned my parents long ago."

"Do you ever regret that?" She asked, looking into the night. The red head laughed and shook her head.

"Hell yes I do." She replied inhaling again. A silence eluded the two, until the red head spoke again. "Is that why you're afraid of the river?"

Sakura shook her head in response. "The waters are just cold this time of year." She said. "Naruto says that the river is always warm, but I guess only a few people can feel that warmth." Six years ago, when Sakura was thirteen, she would have perhaps felt the warmth of the river.

"We're adults now." Karin said. "Things that are warm and fuzzy don't exist, got it?" She brought the cigar to her lips and looked into the slums of their ruined village. Smoke was still rising from burned homes, and bits of wood stuck out in random angles. The screams of dying people still rung heavy in her ears, but that's what Karin was expecting. To her Konoha was a good place, but it was more to Sakura than just a foster home. It was the heart of all Sakura's happiness, and now it was long destroyed— brick by brick.

After the war, a river was formed, and it ran straight through the village of the leaf. And, as a result of Yamatos last jutsu, a giant tree stood in the centre of the village next to the river. The villagers carved names of fallen soldiers who died in the war on the bark of the tree. Konoha was far from repair, and she believed it never would re gain it's lively warmth as it had a few months prior.

"Do you still think things can still be what they once were?" Sakura asked. Karin furrowed her eye brows in disgust of Sakuras reply.

"Things will never be what they once were. Sakura, this world is full of darkness, and it always will be." She said, making her way down to the village.

"And hurry up Sakura, people will be looking for you." She said.

"Wait, one last thing." Sakura said. Karin turned around and stared at the frail kunochi. She waited for Sakura to speak.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" She asked, and Karin chuckled.

"After what hes done for you..." She whispered. "You should be doing more than asking if hes alright. The cherry blossom of Konoha can't even pay attention to the one man that paid attention to her? Now that's pathetic." Karin started to walk away, flicking the ash of her cigar.

"At least you forgot about _him._" She added, and the memory of his dark face flashed in her head.

"I know_._" She replied. "But not completely."

"It's just a matter of time till he attacks again you know." Karin said, throwing down her cigar. She knew that if Sasuke wanted to destroy Konoha, he was going to do it. He would tear it down and not look back. She knew better than to hope that Konoha was going to rebuild itself, but to Sakura it was home. It was more than a place of temporary stay. She stomped on the cigar and turned her heel to face Sakura again.

"Don't be stupid." She said harshly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Bright light bulbs

Notes: A dedication to white hospital lights that make you feel naked underneath them.A longer chapter..sorry

* * *

"Hes finally up." She said, staring at his monitor. Tsuande glanced over to her side, and closed her eyes.

The hospital room was eerie and silent, and she didn't know what to do. The only sound came from the faucet dripping into the sink. It was a cloudy day in Konoha, and the sky still looked like it was covered in ash the nights of the war. Tsunade blinked tiredly into the village, and wished she would have seen a better ending. But in a war, no one wins.

Sasuke was never meant to live, and the villagers knew he was past the point to returning to the village the year he tried to kill his former team mates. Despite Naruto's success in beating Sasuke, Tsuande knew that Sasuke's place in the world belonged in the darkness. He had left the village again, and Naruto would be bound to look for him again.

"Naruto you idiot. You were supposed to do whats best for him." She whispered. "To kill a bird with a broken wing." She believed if Naruto was going to be a true Hokage, he would have stopped Sasuke for his own good once and for all.

"Call in Sakura." She said hastily to an Anbu waiting by her side. "Tell her hes up." She sat in a chair near by and closed her eyes.

Tsuande's youth was not as it had been the month of the war. Although her breasts and skin remained youthful, Tsunade was notably boney and had trouble exerting a large amount of strength in her attacks. It was a month after the great war, and Tsunade was not in tip top shape—after all, nothing lasts forever. Which was sort of a

sad thing if you thought about it.

"Oh Naruto..." She whispered. "I'm so sorry."

The lights from the hospital omitted a strange coldness that made her shiver, but she should have known better when she decided to work at the hospital where death hung in the air. Her eyes were not brilliant green— in fact, they were lacking so much colour they seemed grey. She scanned the halls for nurses and children, but found none. It was nearly two in the morning, and Sakura was about to take any chance to sit down and fall asleep.

"What room?" She asked the nurse scurrying beside her.

"Room 285." She replied handing her papers to look over. Sakura scanned his past injuries and cringed at the sound of it all. He was fully healed but was in a coma for nearly a month after the war ended.

"Room 285? They're keeping him at the end of the hall?" She said looking up. Her companion Kitsume, nodded.

"Right now it has the most security. Every inch of that room can be seen through other wings of the building." She replied. Sakura nodded.

"Say, what's the point in this?" She asked slowing down her pace. "Naruto's going to get back up and try to get Sasuke back again."

"He made you a promise and I assure you he's not going back on his word. His intentions are good Sakura." She added.

"Naruto's childish attempts to bring Sasuke back is a un fulfilling dream that was lost many years ago. The only way to really bring Sasuke back is to get him back into his old self is to kill him."

Kitsume looked at Sakura with confused eyes. "I see you've given up on Sasuke?"

Sakura laughed, "Of course I have." She even managed to convince her self that deep down, she really did have a

hatred for Sasuke.

Sakura opened the door, and the smell of sanitizer stung the air. She looked into Naruto's deep eyes and saw the same sparkle of beauty in them months ago. Some things don't change after all. He slouched backwards, and quickly straightened his back when he locked eyes with Sakura.

They cried, and they hugged, and Sakura felt Naruto's safe arms wrap safely around her. That moment was enough to last Sakura a lifetime of happiness. She was frail and deprived of love and warmth and she was glad she got a taste of it. His embrace felt like butterflies and soft fluttering wings in the pit of her stomach, and all those times Ino told her to "look alive", she could finally do it.

"You're awake now." Sakura whispered. "Naruto-kun, thank you." She just held him there in her arms because how could anyone ever want to let go of something that would make them so happy?

She heard him laugh. "Sakura-chan, we did it!" He smiled, and she put a hand on his head.

"_You _did it. Congrats for the title of Hokage, you're the youngest Hokage in the history of Konoha. " She replied. "Remind me to treat you to ramen one day."

Naruto's eyes lit up in excitement and pride, and Sakura warmly laughed at his eagerness to eat out. "So how is Sasuke-teme?" He asked.

Sakura stiffed at the mention of the rave haired boy, and his dark demeanour. She had forgotten that Naruto was not aware of his second departure of Konoha.

"He's well." she said intruding the moment. "But he left."

"Assigning him to missions already? Man if you—"

"I mean he _left again._" She replied.

And she watched as Naruto's bright eyes frowned, and his body tensed up. Naruto's entire goal in life was to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, and after all the deaths, he felt as if his efforts were useless.

"You did bring him back Naruto. Like you promised." She said.

An eerie silence filled the room, and a dripping sound omitted from the faucet near by. Sakura watched Naruto carefully.

"I promised to bring him back to you." He said.

She brought her hand to rest on Naruto shoulder but he swatted it away.

"He's coming back to Konoha!" He yelled.

Something in Sakura's mind clicked, and before she knew what she was doing, Sakura already regretted it.

"No Naruto, he's not coming back to Konoha! You want to know why? He's torn down the village and burned every home down to oblivion. Have you seen what the village looks like?" She said.

Sakura moved to the window and tore the curtain open. The sky was dark, like the ash from the war still hung in the air. Konoha was a slum. Black smoke and broken families wandered the land in search of stability and security.

"And I know you're trying to be a good friend Naruto, and I don't want to be hurting you like this, but look what you've done! Look what he's done! Look outside, do you see a winning face?"

Naruto looked into Sakura's deep green eyes, and saw a flicker of sadness in them. He paid little attention to Sakura's truthful rants, and more attention to the growing dullness in her glare.

"I made a promise." He said, and Sakura sighed. Their happy days were just drifting memories like dust bunnies rolling in and out. It would be just a matter of time before someone swept them up and threw them out. Naruto knew that was what had happened to Sakura during the war, and her eyes were as motionless as dying cattle.

"The promise is over." She said, and Naruto took a hold of her wrist.

"You can't cancel a promise Sakura-chan. It doesn't just disappear." He replied sternly.

Sakura clawed off Naruto grip. "You idiot. Can't you see what this promise has done? People died because of it! Your friends died! You said you would protect us, but you just let them die!"

"They didn't die because of the promise Sakura! They died because of Madara's evils."

If history didn't have a knack in repeating itself, the days of Konoha would be happy and perhaps even stable. But Sakura knew all to well the sadness that follows victory, and how futile it would be to try and bring Sauske back.

"We can't do any more fighting Naruto, we can only afford to protect. When Sasuke returns for part two of his destruction, we'll be ready, and we'll fight. But you can't go out there and take him back. He's only going to leave again." She said. "Even if you can bring him back a third time, he's going to escape again. He's going to want to leave and he's never going to stop leaving. He'll never stop trying to escape, and if it comes to the point where he has a million guards next to him, he's not going to be happy. He's going to hate you, and hate me. He isn't our pet. He's a

person, and we have let him _go." _

Sakura bit her lip and stayed quiet. It would be best if she didn't pick a fight with Naruto. She looked out into the small village she once called home. Ninja's came and went as fast as the seasons changed, because after the war, there was little sense of stability and security. The land was full of wandering ninja's—some often beggars and lost members of clans who would sadly die off as they separated. Even the Huga's, a once prestigious clan, was going to die off in a few years. Neji who has died off in the war, and Hinata, who has decided to devoted her life to a non-Huga bloodline, left the clan without a leader, and without very few pure bloods. This sense of separation was all because of the selfishness of some ninja. "Do you ever regret some of the things you've done?" he asked quietly.

"Everything." she replied, and she sunk further into her stance of sadness. The faucet from the sink stopped dripping, and soon after the door from Naruto's room slammed shut.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Stop talking to me

Notes: Because Sakura has a lot of friends, and when they lecture her, all she hears are pretty little rants that dance in her ears.

"_Sakura, don't let Naruto\s idiocy fool you. He's a man of good intentions and good will, and he'll make anything happen if he really wanted." _Her old mentor told her. But Sakura felt as if her words were empty— and they were. Everything in the slums of her abandoned and torn village was empty. It was emptier than Sasuke's cold eyes, and Tsunade's frail skin. Konoha was a wasteland.

Weeks ago, Sakura found her self in what she thought was the epiphany of hell. Her heart was empty, her hands full of dried blood, and her body was chakara deprived. But within the pit of Dante's inferno, Sakura knew that having her two idiots beside her was good enough. In the darkness of the ying and the yang, she found comfort.

"Will you marry me now Sakura-chan?" Naruto said jokingly. She brought up his injured body to her lap and started to heal what she could.

"Why would I marry... an idiot like you?" She teased, and she heard Sasuke give a snort. Within the midst of the rising black smoke and sadness that hung in the air, Sakura looked at her two boys and knew that for now being together was enough. For once, she felt stability, warmth, compassion, forgiveness— but it would be short lived.

Many had died during the last few days of the war, and many more died post war. Sakura cringed at the smell of rotting bodies that emitted from the battle field. Hinata was one of the best fighters, and it was clear she had grown more than any other ninja in the land. There were others who fought with their hearts and not too kill—like Neji. Sakura fought the tears thinking about him, and tried to concentrate on her healing towards Naruto.

"Hold still Naruto, you're making this harder for me." She said, emitting a low green chakara to his wounds.

Blood flowed out of his injured body, but she knew he was going to live. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.

"Heal Sasuke-teme first." He said, and Sakura scowled at his reply.

He tore her beloved village down, brick by brick, and set fire to her home. How could any one ever come to terms with someone who destroyed everything you had? What kind of person forgave like that? Naruto's kindness to Sasuke was not even considered kindness. He was being Sasuke's door mat, and he was feeding him everything he wanted.

"He'll be alright." She replied, continuing to heal Naruto. She heard Sasuke grunt, but it was enough for her to know that he was still alive— all three of them. Broken, but still there.

"Earth of forehead!" She shouted.

Sakura turned her head to stare into Ino's bright eyes. At least some still held the warmth inside of them, she thought. The two were on top of an old building, staring into the clouds that had passed them by.

"I hear he's out." She repeated.

"Soon." Sakura replied. She watched as her friend brought a fresh cigar to her lips.

"That's a dirty habit. You also managed to get Karin hooked." She scoffed, but Ino just laughed.

"You mean that dirty red haired bitch?" She replied. "Is she even over Sasuke yet?"

Sakura sneered. "Who knows?" She replied. "And who cares?"

"Remember when you wouldn't let Sasuke-kun out of your sight?" She asked, and Sakura was taken back.

"No." She replied stoically.

Ino laughed and flicked the dead ash from her cigar, watching it descend down from the building. She knew all about Sakura and her condition. Fragments of her memory was long gone and lost. She noticed that Sakura had often forgotten things that were in her childhood days—or perhaps tried to fake it.

"You should give him a chance Sakura." She said looking into the bright sky. "As long as Naruto is Hokage, he isn't going anywhere any time soon."

"Sasuke is never coming back to this village. Got it?" Sakura watched her friend shrug. "Enough about him."

Sakura said. "How's Choji?"

Ino tensed up. "He's fine. We're fine. We're pulling through and that's what matters right?" Sakura watched Ino's bright blue eyes fill with an odd kind of sparkle.

"What if he doesn't get better?" Sakura asked.

Ino dug deep into Sakura's empty green eyes, watching with sincere sadness how cruel a question like that can form from eyes as confident as hers. She stood up, and inhaled one last breath into her cigar, flicked the bud off and watched it nose dive into the dark village.

"You're looking at me like it's not a possibility." Sakura added.

Ino cringed at her voice and turned to watch the village work. She crossed her arms in a protective manner. "Team ten wants to stay together got it? We don't have room for replacements, and we certainly don't have the tears to cry for another death."

The frail woman closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh scent of afternoon air.

"A few years ago when I was a kid, my mom told me a trick." Sakura said climbing down from the building. "Don't expect anything, and have little hope. This way, we won't get disappointed. It's a hell of a painful process, but it better than being disappointed forever." Sakura said.

"That's some good advice." Ino replied. "I'll try to remember it when he's dead."

Sakura gave Ino a faint laugh. "I'll see you later."

"One thing." The blonde said, stopping Sakura in her tracks. "Shika wants to know progress for Choji's

condition"

"His arms are getting better, but his right leg may not ever heal. He'll live, that much is certain. You know about that right?" She replied, and Ino nodded.

"So, his leg, will he be a limp or—"

Sakura frowned. "No, we're going to have to amputate the bottom section under the knee. His spine will be extremely fragile, but he will walk."

"Sakura, are his days of a ninja—"

"Over? I'm afraid so. I think it would be best if Choji settled down and found a wife for his clan. The war is over Ino, and even if the evils still exist, our youth looks promising." She replied jumping off into the village.

Ino looked down into the village and saw the sadness that reflected upon Sakura's sad eyes. She glanced over to the fields where she often laid, and saw Naruto sparing with Sai. She was insanely envious of Sakura— her team was all in place. They were complete and fragile, but still good. Ino's team on the other had was done.

"Sakura you lucky bitch." She said closing her eyes. "Some of us would do anything to be you right now."

Sakura knew how envious Ino was, but she laughed. She looked out from her empty apartment and saw exactly what she saw in her coffee mug. Konoha was a slum that was dark, thick, and bitter just like the contents in her mug. To some, rain was a sign of joy and new beginnings, but Sakura was so done with the sky always crying on her. Sakura lived and breathed with Konoha, but like how good things came and went by quickly, so was Sakura.

"You shouldn't be going back out there Naruto, Sasuke isn't going to like it." Sai said, kicking Naruto's gut.

"I'm not making the same mistake I did last time." He replied, running towards him. A bead of sweat dropped from his forehead, as he saw his opponent take a ready stance.

"It seems to me his feelings for this village are different. I don't think he's going to be coming back." Sai replied, sending a punch to Naruto's jaw. The blonde ducked and swept his foot underneath Sai's feet. He watched him fall backwards.

"It's not even about him returning to Konoha. It's about stopping him once and for all." He replied. Sai stood up quickly and took a ready stance.

"It was stupid of you to think he was going to come back in the first place dickless."

Naruto furrowed his brows and grabbed Sai's collar. "I don't need to be reminded, shit face."

Sai relaxed and laughed lightly. "Shit face?" He questioned. "I'll have to remember that one."

Naruto smirked at his friends remark and set him down slowly.

"I think it would be best if we kept Sakura away from him." Naruto said. "He's emotionally sucking out the life from Sakura— I can feel it."

"You don't need to ask her to see that." He replied.

"Sai, Naruto-kun." Sakura greeted unexpectedly.

"I see we're discussing things about me?" She asked.

Naruto's blue eyes held a comic frightened look, but Sai 's glare held strong and confident. He confirmed that yes, they were talking about her. There was a hacking brutal cough that stirred up in Naruto's throat, but Sakura knew he was trying to fake one.

"Just about the hospital life, you know, stuff like that." Naruto said, and Sai had a confused look in his face.

"No." He said. "We were talking about how sad you were and how you shouldn't think about Sasuke the way you do—Sakura, are you alright?"

"Don't tell me what to feel." She replied.

"Sakura—," Naruto came closer to her. "Don't be like this." He said.

"Ya Sakura, don't be a shit face." Sai replied, and he looked to Naruto who's face swelled up like a tomato. He held his breath for Sakura's stinging words to bash him and then Sai's, but it never came.

Sakura bent forwards and held her stomach as she started to laugh historically. A relieved sigh came from Naruto's lips and he relaxed his stance. In his ears Sakura's laughter sounded like chimes against the wind, and when he closed his eyes to listen, he saw beautiful things like rainbows and sunshine and all the things that fluttered beautifully in the wind.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Theatrics

Notes: Sakura is sober and she wants Konoha to love her again.

In a dream Sakura was skipping in the streets with a basket of flower petals and plants. She dreamt she was in a white cotton dress with her hair short, the the tips of her hair tickling her shoulder blades lightly.

"Choji will get better." She said placing her hand on Ino. "Sasuke is returning." She told Naruto. "Your brother always loved you." Sakura told Sai, and she skipped through the village and sprinkled flower petals across the village in her white cotton dress. The sky was bright blue, and there wasn't a cloud of doubt in sight. In her dream, she could hear the true laughter of children and happy people, and it sounded like tinkling fairies in her ears.

"You're dreaming again."

Sakura didn't even have to look up to her intruder to know who it was. She already knew what she would look like; her brown hair into one bun, with dark eyes and pale skin. Sakura moaned and pulled the sheets out from underneath her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

TenTen gave a cold laugh. "You don't remember what day it is today?" She said.

No, Sakura said, and she brushed past her brown haired friend. "Please enlighten me about it."

"We're visiting Lee and Kiba today remember?" She replied. "Let's get some flowers for them."

"They hate flowers." Sakura replied, pulling on a shirt.

TenTen argued that it was curtsy to give flowers, but that was not what Sakrura thought. Flowers died quick and stayed little, and she hated it's temporary beauty.

When they arrived TenTen was the first to speak. Sakura listened to her constant blabbering that sounded like the look of the congo river. Kiba and Lee were always the talkative kind, but within TenTen's presence, the two shut up. It wasn't like they could hear her anyway—they were out cold.

"—Oh and Karin that stupid bitch learned how to smoke, can you believe it guys?"

Sakura laughed inwardly at TenTen's stupid rants. Her team was torn apart, Ino's team was struggling to stay together, and TenTen's team was not even a team at all.

"Let's just go TenTen." She said interrupting her.

TenTen looked into Sakura's dull green eyes and bit her lip. Her empty stare cut like a knife through lettuce.

"—Do you think it's going to stay like this forever?" She asked, and Sakura really didn't have a clue. She really didn't fucking know if Konoha could even hold it's ground after a week.

"Probably not." She replied. "It'll probably crumble soon and new villages will form."

"I was hoping for a different answer." She replied sadly, oh and so did Sakura. She was just waiting for TenTen to deny it.

"So was I." She murmured.

Sakura tossed the flowers on the ground where Kiba and Lee laid. She apologized for crushing their dreams of a better village and looked at TenTen.

"Idiots," Sakura whispered, but TenTen shot her a nasty glare.

"They were smart enough to die." She defended. "_Your _idiots were too stupid for that."

Sakura clenched her fists, and grinded her teeth. No one spoke about her team in that way. But it wasn't her team anymore, and she wasn't really even part of a team to begin with. TenTen was in it for the sake of her team, and that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.

"I don't remember what my team was like, remember?" Sakura said.

"Right, your memory." She softened, and TenTen had an epiphany—maybe that's why Sakura hated this place. She wouldn't be surprised if she had gotten up and left. No, but TenTen wouldn't dare to abandon her village just yet. It was good to her even if she didn't have a clan name.

"How much do you remember?" She asked, slipping a rose between the stones.

"Bits and pieces. Small parts, but enough to remember who I was." She replied.

"Do you remember Sasuke and—," She paused. "And when he was young?"

Sakura heard his nasty laugh in her ears, and it sounded vile like the deepest creatures were cracking jokes. Sasuke's laughing voice, like a Hyena, was so vile.

"You used to love him so much remember?"

Oh yes, Sakura remembered. If there was one thing she would never forget, it would be Sasuke's betrayal, and Naruto's sun shinning face assuring her he'll bring him back.

No, she lied, and her brown haired companion stayed quiet for the rest of the day.

"I'm sorry Lee, Kiba." Sakura said.

TenTen bowed to their graves for respect and prayed that the upbringing of Konoha would happen very soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Hang yourself already

Notes: Short chapter. Oh and Because I hate leaving things behind. & No, I'm not lost.

Konoha was a city that had a rope tied around it's throat, just waiting for the floor boards to collapse from underneath. Oh God, Sakura thought, A cigarette would be perfect. She took a final look into the ruins of her city from a mountain top and blinked twice like she would be snapping a picture. And she didn't know where the fuck she was going—hell she didn't even think she was strong enough to walk anymore —But this was where she _belonged. _She was raised in the beautiful village of the shinning sun and blue skies filled with birds and butterflies—hell, she fought to keep the village alive, but that ends here.

"Shit I hate this place." She said into the village. "You're ugly and dark and black, and fuck I hate this place! This isn't Konoha, this is a place where prostitutes and slaves come to pry on the dead land. I'm so done!" She yelled.

She listened for someone to voice a response back, and tell her that no, Konoha was still a wonderful place. But no one stopped her, and the eerie silence of sin filled her ears and soon her heart.

"I don't need you!" She said throwing rocks at the village, and hot tears fell from her face in fury. Her frail hands grabbed the rocks from the ground and she threw them as hard as she could into the village like she could destroy it once and for all. She cried and cried—grabbing the dirt when the stones ran out, and she could feel the earth underneath her dig into her finger nails.

"I don't _need _you!" She yelled again. "I don't need _any _of you!"

Konoha abandoned her, and died with out her dying with it. And oh God leaving them all behind stung like floor burn across her heart. Sakura took her things and cried.

She cried for a very long time actually, and she was very sad. She left in search for a home, a _true _home that was not anything like Konoha and the rising ash from the ground. Her feet walked over many mountains and valleys in search for something she wasn't even sure existed. Perhaps she would just die here in the emptiness of it all.

Sakura carried a bucket of water to her camp, where she had set up a fire and a place to lean on. It was dark now and the blackness swallowed up the land like Sasuke swallowed up the village.

The fire crackled violently in front of her, but she didn't really mind it. It was sort of like an upbringing of her spirits to be alone with such fake light and warmth. It had been almost two days since her quick departure from her village, and people would have started to look for her.

"Lost?"

She whipped her head around saw all that there was to fear in the world.

No, she replied in almost a whisper.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5: Death Camp

Notes: Oh, Because Sakura's lost her memory, Sasuke is still a careless bastard, and I love the night.

She looked absolutely pathetic in his eyes.

But his images blurred, and Sasuke watched in sadistic kind of way as he watched her lip tremble slightly. Sakura had looked exhausted. There were shadows under her eyes that were so deep and pronounced, and he sort of liked this Sakura. He didn't like the Sakura he had faced in the war—no. she was swallowed up in pride and eagerness.

"What do you want?" She whispered.

He came forward to reveal himself in the crackling light of the fire. "A place to stay."

Sakura almost laughed in his face, because she was so done with his bullshitting. She looked into his face and tried to control herself, but he laughter spilled out like milk in a carton.

"Don't even talk to me Uchiha you fucking son of a bitch." She giggled helplessly. "I was stupid to hold on to you—to Konoha, and the worst part is, some people still do." Sakura tried to control herself and she smiled shamelessly. She wanted to crush his spine and spill his guts across the earth, but she would be dead before she could move.

Sasuke just stared at her with dead eyes that were dark and fathomless. He didn't even want to say anything.

"Whats your business out here Uchiha?" She asked.

"Nothing." He replied. "Wandering."

"Me too." She said in a hushed tone.

She just looked at him and she wanted to just run away and giggle because she was _so _done. Sakura was so _done _with his fucking dark avenger crap, she didn't want anything to do with it anymore. She even abandoned her village to abandon him.

She didn't belong in this death camp with this vampire. Sakura looked around her camp, and she began to pack up her things.

"I'm leaving." She said. _I'm leaving you this time_, is what she wanted to say, but she didn't utter a single word.

"I'm leaving." She said. _I'm leaving you this time_, is what she wanted to say, but she didn't utter a single word.

"Oh and just in case you wanted to know, Konoha will be rebuilding for years on end. Hell, the village would probably falter in a few weeks now that I've left. Don't you ever wonder why the light just disappears from out of you? It's weird you know?"

Sasuke made no indication he was listening, but he was.

"You're so wrong." He said, watching her retreating back. "Light never disappears. Darkness is just a measure of how much light there is left."

And oh God, he was right again.

"Whatever—," She waved. "—I don't need any of your philosophizing."

"Come with me." He said, and Sakura stopped in her tracks. Every fibre of her being wanted to pivot around and embrace him, but she was smarter than that. And she didn't want to join him in the pits of his revere because such a move would stir up anger in Naruto's heart. There was no way Sakura could join him—not now, not ever. As soon as Sasuke would lie a hand on her, a war would start and no one wants that.

She laughed inwardly. Actually, that was a fat lie. Everyone wants war, and it's only a matter of time before someone starts it. Everyone wants to shed guts, spill blood and raise the stained victory flag up high in the air for their enemies to see. It's what life is about; love, slaves, romance, and the passion for blood to splatter beautifully across the marble floors. There no such thing as good people and bad people, everyone's twisted in a way and bad people are just honest about it.

She didn't even know how to respond.

"What do you need me for?" She hissed violently. Sasuke chuckled lightly at her fearful actions and walked towards her. Sakura watched his bare chest expose in the dim light, and even if her hormones provoked her to stare and drool, Sakura refused to.

"You betrayed us, —hell you betrayed your own home." She said fearlessly. "Like hell I'd go with you Uchiha!" But the funny thing was, Sakura stayed absolutely still, wanting for him to deny it all.

"Fine." He murmured and he didn't even have to pretend to care when Sakura's eyes filled with glassy tears. All he had to do was turn around and listen to the crickets sing him songs and the crackle of the fire's drum in his ears. But there was just something so beautiful about Sakura, and he would do anything to claim it as his.

"So why aren't you leaving yet?" He asked her, and she just looked at him with dull eyes and sad expressions.

"I don't know." She said quietly. This was her moment to show him how much she'd grown and blossomed, but she was wrong. Sakura hadn't blossomed into a flower, she was dying.

He looked at her dull eyes and enjoyed it for some sadistic reason.

"I don't really remember you." She said. He gave her an ambiguous glance and listened for her sweet soprano to sing to him.

"I'm sorry Sasuke—," She said. "—I don't know you."

Sasuke wanted to laugh—and not in the sweet, funny kind of way, but in a sadistic, hyena kind of way because how _fucking _pathetic was he seven years ago when he left the village? Who wanted to know him when he was thirteen?

She stared at him and his menacing demeanour, waiting for him to even given an indication she had spoken.

"I don't even know you either." He said.

"I guess we're even then Uchiha."

"You're a terrible liar Sakura." He replied, taking a step towards her. "You remember everything about me." He looked into her beautiful dull eyes and knew how much they would be worth if he could sell them.

"Why'd you do it then?" She asked him. "If you know so much about me, why'd you leave?"

Sasuke sat down in front of the fire she had made, and looked into the night. He wasn't fond of any sort of communication.

"The same reason you left."

She joined him next to the fire, smoothing out her pink hair.

A cracking sound of twigs came from the forest, and Sakura took a ready stance. Sasuke closed his eyes and a waited for the intruder to make his way into their camp.

She stepped out into the dead of the night and saw a warm fire thrashing wildly. When she looked at Sakura, the red head almost felt relieved. Glancing over to her partner, Karin was ready to fall back and start laughing.

"Oh God, this is good." She said with a cigar in her lips. "Oh my God this is so _fucking _hilarious."


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 6: Math Terms_

_Notes: I hate writing Karin as the antagonist. I just love Karin._

_Last chapter. Don't cry_

_NOTES1:*** ok guys, just in case you didn't pick up before, "the river" is a symbol I used and it represents "love." _

_aka Sakura thinks the river is always cold. Aka Sakura thinks love is cold. ok? thanks lovlies. _

* * *

Oh how she ached for the feeling of what it was like to wrap her cold hands around his neck and snap it; to feel the satisfying crunch of his pipe like a frail twig on the ground. It was a vicious satisfaction she longed to feel.

"Karin, this isn't what it looks like." Sakura said.

But Karin just shook her head and smiled maliciously at the sight before her. She was just happy she didn't miss Sakura shredding the Uchiha into pieces. Taking a seat beside Sakura, Sasuke stared her down.

"What? Is this a problem Uciha?" She hissed exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Everyone's looking for you Sakura, and this is what you're doing?" Karin almost laughed. "Oh this is good. _Real _good. Now, explain to me why the _fuck _aren't you two tearing each other apart yet?"

In his ears, Karin's words were just pretty little rants he had heard before. Her tongue was sharper the last time she was with him, but that was all he noted.

"He found me wandering Karin." Sakura replied.

"So what's your reason for leaving?" She asked.

Sakura looked into the night. "I hated it there." She said.

"I don't know much about _being home, _but Konoha is your home Sakura." She replied, and for some reason, her name danced so prettily in Karin's mouth she wanted to kiss it.

"Naruto saves the village, befriends his inner demon, gains respect for the village, gave this bastard a home, and this is the way you repay him? Oh God, Sakura you must be one _fucking _messed up girl."

"This isn't about Naruto." Sakura replied.

"Oh? It's not? Because I think it should be— I mean, honestly Sakura, look at all he's done for us. He's like a living God to the villagers in Konoha!"

Sasuke chuckled lightly.

"You find this funny Uchiha?" Karin sneered. She placed the cigar in her mouth and it dangled in front of Sakura's eyes.

"Karin—," Sakura said "—I get it, Naruto's a hero. But I can't , I just can't."

The red head played with her hair and twisted back. "Don't go blaming the accident and your memory bitch."

"I don't care. I'm not coming back home."

"And why the fuck not?" She replied, exhaling smoke. It wrapped around her lips and played beautifully around the fire.

"She's going with me." Sasuke said, watching the red head's smile crook up into a little smile.

Karin laughed because her stomach ached for it, and she couldn't stop giggling because she was way ahead of all of them, _way a head. _Her slim fingers flexed for the feel of them around his neck, but she knew what that would end up like. Her voice cracked once and she stopped.

"You two are so stupid you know that right—?" She said. "Oh God I'm so over this. I'm _so _done." She brought a hand to her mouth and giggled helplessly, because Karin had never been so sure of something in her life. She was way a head of those happiness clinging idiots who thought Sasuke would ever warm up to them.

"Have fun fucking each other alright? Send Naruto a post card or something at least— that little bastard won't stop crying for days."

Sasuke stared at her with his empty eyes that were black and careless. Her words were nothing really except pretty rants in his ears. She didn't belong with any of them (not that she belonged anywhere really) but she knew it was time for her to move on a find a new ride. With butterflies in her stomach fluttering like drunken spiders, Karin shot up and walked away deep into the forest. A cigar hung from her hands and she tapped out the ashes and placed it back on her lips.

"Later losers." She said, and Sakura stared into her retreating back. She would never be back, or perhaps maybe she would. She didn't really know for sure. Karin was not good to her, but for some strange reason her

departure stung like the wind thrashing restlessly.

"She's gone."

"You left them all behind, what makes her so special?" He said, and she knew it wasn't really a question to be answering. Karin was a wanderer, and her life was to be skipping form one place to the next—never staying, always leaving. She was like a tumble weed in the prairies, rolling by leaving behind dust. Sakura just found it to be absolutely captivating to watching tumble weeds roll off into the distance.

She should have known better.

"You should have treated her better." Sakura said, regaining her spot next to Sasuke again. "All of them, your team."

"It wasn't really a team to begin with." He replied, sitting next to her. Maybe they were perfect together after all, because he was lonely and so was she, and maybe it would work out in the end.

Maybe not.

"We were a great team." Sakura mentioned, and Sasuke almost smiled.

She just wanted to rest her head on him and sleep peacefully on his shoulder, but Sasuke would never allow it. He was her prize way back then, but now he's nothing more than a fire cracker—a temporary beauty. And Sakura hated temporary beauty.

"We weren't really a team ethier." He said but Sakura ignored it.

"I'll stay with you for one night Sasuke." She replied, looking into his dark eyes. Sasuke listened to her sweet voice and wondered where had the suffix at the end of his name go?

"Once." She murmured, and Sakura rested her head against his shoulder. When she woke up, maybe he'd be gone and she would be fine with it.

Her firecracker.

And she was surprised how comfortable she felt resting on his boney shoulder. Sakura thought she could almost feel the evil leaking within his body.

Sasuke didn't know why he let her lean against him. He should have nudged her off and stabbed her in the heart. But instead, he lifted her off his shoulders and told her to lie down with him. Strangely enough, Sakura did what he wanted. She felt the ground scrape the skin off her knees, and Sasuke's cold fingers lace around her hands.

"I can see Polaris." She said, looking into the sky.

Sasuke just nodded and looked at her dull grey eyes. Oh how deprived of colour they were. An aching power wanted him to claim her— she was his for the night.

This would probably be the high of my life, Sasuke thought.

"Sa-su-ke." She whispered, and his name was art in his ears. Sakura turned to her side to stare at her fire cracker, and hoped it wouldn't explode when she wasn't looking.

_I should stab you. _Was what they both thought, but similar terms cancel out, and all that's left are the extra's.

Sasuke looked into her eyes and saw something so beautiful he couldn't explain it. It was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life—Just staring at her and her broken eyes, and the pronounced dark circles underneath her green jewels. Then her lips parted just slightly, and he wanted to rip them off and keep them for himself.

"Once, and then never again." He said, and he took her green frightened eyes, her dry parted lips and frail body, and embraced them all to himself.

Sakura felt his face on hers, and she didn't know how to react to it. She just looked at him and his dangerous eyes, and wondered what the _fuck _was she doing on the ground with the man that erased her memory. The one who put that bomb in the hospital and killed her parents and her memories.

_I should kill you. _

But she couldn't, and at the moment all she wanted was to feel happy. Sakura parted her lips and he had done the same, kissing him with a sweet sincere passion. When they parted, electricity pounded in her heart and across her body.

The feeling of her kiss was like awakening a dragon in a cave, except it was beautiful and warm in a way that he had never encountered. It was life birds chirping and butterflies flying with in his heart, and _oh my God _did it feel good.

He closed his eyes, and just held her there in the night. When she woke up, he would be gone, and the only proof that he was ever there would be the small dent in the grass where he had stood watching her. The small dent in the ground where he was made from—Where he would die in. The dent in the ground where he laid with Sakura in his arms. And maybe this was what Naruto had meant when he said that the river was warm this time of year. He had always thought it would be cold and frigid. He would have wanted to feel the warmth of the river with Sakura, but he would be gone soon.

Sakura's floor burn.

And Sasuke knew she would be heart broken (hell yes she would), and she would be beyond repair. She would be dull and dead—but still good.

Her fire cracker.


End file.
